New Delhi: In a significant move, the European Union (EU) has imposed a hefty fine of $843 million on Meta, the parent company of Facebook, for its anti-competitive practices related to its Marketplace service.
The EU’s investigation revealed that Meta, leveraging its dominant position in the social media market, unfairly promoted its own Marketplace platform. By automatically integrating Marketplace into Facebook, the company exposed all users to its service, regardless of their interest. This, according to the EU, stifled competition from other online classified ad services.
Additionally, the EU found that Meta used valuable data from other classified ad services that advertised on its platforms to enhance its own Marketplace. This practice, the EU argued, created an uneven playing field for competitors.
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Margrethe Vestager, the EU’s competition commissioner, emphasized that Meta’s actions violated EU antitrust rules. She underscored the importance of fair competition in the digital market and stressed that Meta must cease its anti-competitive practices.
Meta, however, plans to appeal the decision, claiming that users have the option to opt out of Marketplace and that the platform hasn’t hindered competition from other online marketplaces like eBay and Vinted.
This substantial fine marks the first instance of Meta being penalized by the EU for antitrust violations, underscoring the increasing scrutiny faced by Big Tech companies regarding their market dominance and fair practices in the digital age.
